WEST PALM BEACH, FLA (April 23, 2021) – West Palm Beach Mayor Keith A. James joins other Climate Mayors highlighting climate policies and projects as part of Earth Week, April 19-23, 2021.  As part of Earth Week, President Joe Biden committed to reduce climate-threatening Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 50-52% by 2030. This is in alignment with the recently released Climate Mayors Synthesis Report and is supported by America is All In. This follows action taken by Mayor James and 465 other mayors in the Climate Mayors network, who committed to adopting, honoring, and upholding the commitments to the goals enshrined in the Paris Agreement.

“While there is more work to be done, the City of West Palm Beach is all in on climate action,” said West Palm Beach Mayor Keith A. James. “We continue to prioritize the environment and resiliency and remain fully committed to combatting climate change with meaningful actions.”

Under Mayor James’ leadership, West Palm Beach has taken these recent climate actions:

• The city is pursuing re-certification with the USGBC LEED for Cities program to increase its rating from Silver to Gold/Platinum. LEED for Cities is the leading global rating system and verified certification program for evaluating sustainability and quality of life holistically.
• The city is moving forward with a DEO grant that in part will address resilience and sea-level rise at Currie Park by investing more than $16 million to build resilient seawalls, improve stormwater quality, develop living shorelines, pedestrian hardscaping, and native landscaping.
• The City of West Palm Beach is recognized as an ‘A’ list City for transparency and action on climate change for investments in infrastructure to reduce the City’s carbon footprint and to prepare for climate-related impacts. Infrastructure investments include electric buses, low-carbon transport, bike lanes, and pedestrian walkways. West Palm Beach is one of only 25 U.S. cities and 88 cities in the world to have achieved this elite distinction. The listing was awarded by CDP, a non-profit organization dedicated to climate leadership. 

In March 2021, Mayor James establish a Climate Resilience Taskforce. This internally-focused, cross-departmental group will work to implement the city’s newly updated Rethink Paradise Action Plan and focus on building a more resilient community for citizens and visitors. For more information, call  (561) 804-4994 (TTY 800-955-8771), email sustainability@wpb.org, or visit https://www.wpb.org/government/sustainability.